Lifeboat



ID. S. NEILL LIFEBOAT Filed Dec.. 17, 192'? Il (l lllatenterl t e lt. lilhi lltlfllli ravin e. .unitn or Genoa, trata".

lLltFEBOAT.

.application led lleeember 1'?, 19527, Serial No. 240,799, and in Italy November 19, 1927.

rl`hia invention relates4 to lifesaving at eea and its object ie to provide an appliance which will. advantageouely subatitute the type oil l'ltehoata at preeent lgenerally adopted on board eteanishipe, which in practice prove to be unsafe and unreliable even in exceptionally liavoural'ile circun'istanrea llt is an obviouel tact that nautical lifesaving` appliances; have not improved concur rently with the enorinoun` progresa ol'i n'nirine constructions generally, coneieting ae they do 'in the universally adopted ordinary open liile boat., aptto dangerously liet when being' lauiiched with its complement of passengers, to beseriouely damaged by smashing a gainet the ehipeI eide, and eas-illy capaizable when afloat under the action ol disordinato move rnenta et panic stricken pa gere unaccua ton'ed to boat 1nai'ioeuvring` particularly in a rough eea..` Furthermore once the open boat has managed to get clear oi the ship, il? the wea-ther is at all inclement, the occupante, a large percentage oill whom may conan-it oil weinen and children, are exposed tor an in'- detlnite period o'ltiine to the moet eevere eul'l'ering. i

The appliance 'forming the object ol the present invention ineant to obviate the dangers and generally lamented inconveniences which the paeaengera and crew are norinally exposed to in the event ovl their having to abandon the ship on the high Seas, redueing to a niininiuin the eerioua risks attending,` the lowering of ordinary liteboats, avoiding` the danger ot' capeiningin the toughest eea and al'tording` an elieetive shelter and proteetion to the occupante in any nort oli weather in any season and in any latitude.

The principle o'l'i the invention will be better understood when referring),` to the acco1npanying drawings andfdeseription thereof, illustrating a preferred embodiment oi: the invention.,

ln the drawings: Y

lligure l is a side elevation oil, an 'improved lifeboat, with the side being' removed to show the internal co etruetion;

Figure 2 is a plan view, one of the upper longitudinal. quarters oit the hull plating' removed to show the interior arrangement;

Figure 3 is in enlarged scale a vertical seetion of the apparatus, towards the stern portion.

its it is clearly shown, the boats body coinprisee a substantially cylindrical hull closed by hemispherical or otherwise rounded ende,

Vllt will be generally advisable to construct thie hull o'la li ght and renie ant metal, auchv ae dnrahunin or apeeial steel, the platingl being` Supported by strong annular Vibe 2, to which. it is riveted. il double bottoin 3 with raieed floors constructed along; the whole length of the quiclcwork ol' the boat and in thiadou` ble bottoni lreh water and fuel tanks are arrangeifl. l ahlen, thie double bottoni may also be completely hallaeted with water `tor iinproving` the stability ot the boat. The stein portion ogf the submerged part o't the hull can be conveniently Shaw-d in order to diniineh the resistance to n'iovement, while the stern portion ci the quielm'orlc il auitably reccaaed at l ilior the arrzniggeniient oi' a rudder o and the Screw propeller (l. '.llhe lioat is; ordinarily propelled by an interi'ial. eoinlnietion engine 8 suit-ably situated ainidahipe to drive, by menne ol a Suitable :elrilit t3, to s-:aid screw tl il. hand steering .vl'loel l@ 'lor the rudder iw suitably Situated iunidahipa.

Above the helinaniane station on the hull l. a, cylindrical denic with water-'tiglit hinged cove; l2 if; ai'ranppd, provided with' suitable :side and upper Surveying port holenl ttor the helrneinan. lneide, along the sides and on the centre line, where it possible, benches lll for the occupante are arranged. rlhe hull l is pro vided beeidee the water tight deine ll, also with a nun'il'ier oit sniitable lateral doorn l5 arranged so ae to be easily l'lerineti cally closed either iron'i the interior or the eateri or. jl. suitable rubber, belnp gasket or otlier type oit horizontal lender i6 in iitted all` around the hull, along), the periphery of ite inaxiinuin horizontal section, and other vertical tenders are applied on to the heiniapherieal Stern and stein convexitiee, while on a plane below that olE the horizontal tender and projecting ont ol the hull are a number oil. ball-like fender rollers 18 coinstituted genorally oit a rubber core lined with a thick cork layer and enclosed in weaved or twined heinp rotatably Supported .in Suitable stirrup inenr bere bolted to the corresponding; hull plating.

il.. euitaliile number of Ventilating cowls; 19 are arranged in Suitable positions., in order to provide "tor the airing of the interior. Furthermore Suitable means are provided ttor en gan-ing and diner/leaning the boat suspending geen ai'itoinatically and by hand from the interior of the hull.

The di inensione oiu the boat will depend of course, upon the number of persone it is designed to carry (generally 'trom 60 to 100 l lo each boat) in relation to the deck space available on each particular type of vessel for installation of life-saving appliances, and it is obvious that the launching devices will have the resistance and power as required. The new type of boat besides the fresh water supply and the fuel tanks will carry a suitable number of oars, and other devices as requisite as well as food, medicines, signalling means, etc'.

Moreover, it will be possible to arrange a pair of bilge keels in order to increase the stability of the boat.

From the foregoing specification it is apparent that the above objects are all attained by means of the improved boat according to the invention.

In fact, owing` to the substantially round cross section and the fact that the boat can be hermetically closed as well as to the arrangement of the horizontal and vertical fenders and ofthe rolling;r ball corkfenders, the boat may be safely launched even it the ship is heeling over at a heavy angle. Moreover, as the hull is adapte-d to be hermetically closed, it is practically immaterial it' it is launched in an inclined posit-ion.

Further the side doors, which are of a suitable number, will entail a more orderly embarkation than is ordinarily the ease particularly in emigrant ships, avoiding the chaotic crowding over the sides of the boat, as customary in manysuch cases,-once clear of the ship, the boat, with doors and portholes closed will obviously resist the very strongest gale being practically turned into a buoy, affording a comfortable shelter to the occupants from cold, rain or ice.

Further it will be apparent that while I have particularly described the above preferred embodiment of what I consider my invention, many changes will be possible to the said embodiment, though remaining within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended' claims.

Thus for instance it will. be possible to make the upper part of the hull or an oval transversal section, instead of a round one, or also, as already indicated, the fore and aft ends could be of ogival or yotheri'minded form, instead of hemispherical, ete.

Havingr now particularly described and ascertained the nature ot my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

l. In lifeboats, a thoroughly closed hull ol' substantially cylindrical shape with hemispherieal tore and att ends; a suitable nun\- ber of doors ou the upper sides, suitable rentilator tubes and means tor hermetieally closing same from the interior, suitable horizontal fenders arranged towards the periphery of the largest horizontal sectional plane; a number of vertical tenders arranged stein, and sternwards and a number ot outwardly projecting,r stirrup members arranged below the plane of the horizontal tender and supporting' each of a pivoted ball-like corkfender for ensuring the sate lowering' of the lifeboat-s down the inclined side of a heeling` ship; and suitable driving, governing, and steering' means, as well as storage and other tanks and commodities as usual or prescribed in liteboats.

i2'. In lifeboats, a tl'ioroughly closed hull of substantially cylindrical shape with heinispherical fore and aft ends; a suitable number of doors on the upper sides, suitable ventilator tubes and means for hermetically closing' same from the interior; suitable horizontal tenders arranged towards the periphery oi the largest horizontal sectional plane; a number of vertical fenders arranged stem, and sternwards and a number ot' outwardly projectin` stirrup members arranged below the plane of the horizontal tender and supportinpr each a pivoted ball-like eorktender for ensuring' the safe loweringl ot the li'leboats down the inclined side of a heeling ship; suitable driving, governing', and steering' means, raised iioors along the quickwork of the boat, providing for double bottom tanks for fuel and fresh water supply, and usable as ballast, a suitably faired recess under the stern for accomodating the propeller and rudder; internal combustion engine inside the hull; a propeller shaft; a steeringr wheel and a water tight dome ainidships with suitable portholes to allow the helinsmau to in spect the surroundings.

In testimony whereof I allx in v signature.

DAVID S. N ICILI.

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